Green light for housing scheme on former industrial site

A former industrial site is to be transformed with the construction of 151 houses.

Lovell Midlands has been given the green light to develop brownfield land in Steelhouse Lane, Monmore Green, Wolverhampton with a £2.5m scheme providing a mix of homes to buy or rent.

The site, which has been lying vacant for more than a decade, is being brought back into use after the WMCA used funding to clean up the land and make it ready for development.

The Combined Authority says it has a £760m war chest to support new housing and commercial developments that bring homes and jobs to local communities.

A large part of that is for cleaning up and decontaminating former industrial sites, many of them in the Black Country.

The funding is part of the WMCA’s ‘brownfield first’ approach to help relieve pressure on the Green Belt.

The West Midlands needs to build more than 215,000 new homes by 2031 to meet future housing demand and population growth.

Mayor of the West Midlands Andy Street said: “This is a great example of how the WMCA is breathing new life into derelict, former industrial land by clearing the way for new homes and businesses.

“Our overarching goal is to use the money and the powers transferred to us from government to build a prosperous future by growing our economy in a way that benefits all our communities and gives everyone the opportunity for a decent job and an affordable home.”

The Lovell scheme will provide a mix of two, three and four bedroom open market and affordable homes from Walsall based Registered Provider, WHG Housing Association.

A total of 76 homes will be sold by Lovell, whilst a further 16 will be available on a shared ownership scheme called Home Reach from Heylo Housing. The other 59 homes will be managed by WHG on an affordable rental basis.

Stuart Penn, Lovell’s regional managing director, said, “This important development will transform this former industrial site as well as help tackle the pressing demand for new homes in the area.

“We are proud to be able to deliver a scheme with such a variety of tenure which will really help local people get on the ladder and/or into a high-quality new home from shared ownership to affordable rent.”

Construction work on the 8.5 acre site, to be named Saints Quarter, is due to start in the summer.

It has had a number of former uses most notably as a brickworks and latterly as a metals factory, which closed in 1997. The site was subsequently cleared and has sat empty since 2006.

City of Wolverhampton Council director of housing, Kate Martin, said: “This is another major development site to support the regeneration of Bilston.

“We can now look forward to seeing more new homes being built this summer, in addition to over 400 homes already being developed at Bilston Urban Village.

“Saints Quarter will make a significant impact in providing greater home choice for the area, as well as continuing to support our housing growth plans for the City of Wolverhampton.

“This development means more and better homes being delivered and adds to the extensive investment by City of Wolverhampton Council and other private investors in new housing, leisure, commercial and transport developments in and around Bilston.”